


I've got you

by Destinyandchicken11



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Abuse, Angst, BAMF David Rose, BAMF Patrick Brewer, David Rose Deserves Nice Things, David Rose Loves Patrick Brewer, Gen, Hurt David Rose, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, M/M, Post-Canon, asshole ex's, protective patrick brewer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:47:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28703910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destinyandchicken11/pseuds/Destinyandchicken11
Summary: “Hi, welcome to Rose apothecary.” David greets the customer with his back turned, making a half-hearted attempt to flash a quick smile while stocking the last of the candles and picking up the empty boxes to move behind the counter.When they are finally out of the way, David breathes a sigh of relief and stands behind the counter, turning to look at the stranger with a customer service smile etched upon his face which freezes the instant he takes a good look at the man.“Hello David Rose.”Shit.----------------------------------------------One of David's asshole ex-boyfriends shows up at the store and David has a few things he'd like to say. Featuring a protective Patrick, hurt David, and a vengeful ex.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 8
Kudos: 220
Collections: Numerous OTPS Infinite Fandoms





	I've got you

David is restocking the scented candles when the bell on the door chimes and he walks in.

It had been a fairly slow day so Patrick was in the back doing some accounting or spreadsheets or whatever the fuck it is he does when he sits on his computer typing numbers into Excel. Considering the Rose family history with other people handling their finances, David had been on edge about leaving all of that work to Patrick in the beginning but it was evident from day one that David was pretty hopeless at the behind-the-scenes stuff. And he trusted Patrick. He trusted Patrick more than anyone he had ever trusted in his life which was a scary thing to admit for someone who has had his trust broken more times than he can even remember. Mostly by asshole ex’s. Sometimes people he considered his friends, occasionally by his parents, but mostly by asshole ex’s.

“Hi, welcome to Rose apothecary.” David greets the customer with his back turned, making a half-hearted attempt to flash a quick smile while stocking the last of the candles and picking up the empty boxes to move behind the counter.

When they are finally out of the way, David breathes a sigh of relief and stands behind the counter, turning to look at the stranger with a customer service smile etched upon his face which freezes the instant he takes a good look at the man.

“Hello David Rose.”

Shit.

His voice is exactly the same as it was last time they saw each other, the British accent is charming and smooth like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill except David is desperately trying to unthink that connection because he doesn’t want that piece of art associated with this trash bag of a human being.

“Matthew.” David replies quietly because he isn’t really sure what else there is to say. He’s wearing that stupid leather jacket with black ripped jeans, thick rimmed glasses and a black beanie in a disturbing collision of cool biker and hipster art student that David had once thought looked good. Looking at him now, he looks like a prick.

“It’s been a long time, David.”

“I wonder why that is.” David snaps back suddenly angry at the thought that this man who caused him so much pain is allowed here, in his store, in his safe space, in his new life away from the assholes in New York knew nothing except how to hurt him.

“It’s a nice place you’ve got here.” Matthew says looking around skeptically. “It’s very... David.” He grimaces a little as he says it just to make sure that David knows it’s not a compliment. David wishes he would stop saying his name. When Patrick says it, it’s so full of love and warmth and comfort that sometimes it even convinces David that he’s worth all of the affection he’s given. When this asshole says it, it’s patronising and cold like he’s some kind of petulant child who is in over his head.

David doesn’t know how this is going to end, but he doesn’t look forward to finding out. With Matthew Hayes, there’s really only one way things can go.

* * *

“Let’s get out of here.” Matthew practically shouted over the thumping club music. His voice was gorgeous; David was sure he would never grow tired of hearing it. He grabbed David’s hand and they pushed their way through the dance floor and into the cool air outside, a refreshing change from the heat of the club.

Once they were outside and had both taken in a gulp of the fresh air, David began to walk towards the road to call a taxi but was stopped by Matthew who called out a breathless “Wait!” before pushing David up against the wall to resume the passionate kissing they had begun inside.

After several more seconds of pure bliss, David broke it apart and looked into Matthew’s eyes, “God you’re incredible. How have we only just met?”. Whether it was the drugs, the alcohol, or just the electric mood of New York City David felt lighter than he had felt in a very long time.

“Are you coming back to mine?” Matthew asked in between kisses on David’s neck.

“God, yes.”

Waking up in a strangers bed with – at best – a shaky recollection of the previous night’s affairs was not an unusual feeling for David. Turning over to find the other side of the bed empty was also not an unusual feeling for David but this time he felt a slight pang. Last night had been different to the other hook-ups and casual flings David was used to. He felt a connection with Matthew and for once, he thought that someone actually liked him back. With a sigh, David began to collect the various items of clothing scattered around the room and prepared himself for the walk of shame back across the city.

“You’re not leaving already are you?” Matthew asked from the doorway holding two steaming mugs in his hands.

David smiled, he knew they had a connection. “Not if you want me to stay.”

It was half an hour later when David finally checked the time and sat up suddenly. “Shit, I’m really late for work. We have an exhibition opening on Monday and there’s so much I still need to do.” With as much grace as he could muster, not wanting to completely embarrass himself just yet, he threw the rest of his clothes on and gathered his things.

“Wait David,” Matthew called from the bed, “come over tonight, we’ll make an evening of it.”

“Ok.” David replied, blushing slightly, “See you then.”

The day passed alarmingly slowly with David anxious to finish work so he could go back to see Matthew. When the time finally arrived, David knocked on the apartment door and Matthew welcomed him in with a kiss. He poured them both a glass of red wine and the evening passed much quicker than David liked, partially due to the copious amounts of wine that managed to work their way into his system and probably aided by coke Matthew had seemingly pulled out of nowhere.

When he woke up the next morning, David once again only had hazy memories of the night before. They were good memories though, not like some times when he would wake up and not remember anything except being miserable, and hurt, and alone. It was strange to have someone lying next to him. David couldn’t remember the last time he had gone to bed with someone and not immediately parted ways the next morning. It was nice.

Unwilling to make the same mistake as yesterday with the exhibition so close, David had set himself an alarm to force himself out of bed. As he was preparing to leave once again, Matthew looked at him from the bed.

“Do you have to go?” Matthew whined, a small pout forming on his face. He was lying topless in the bed, leaning on his side in a way that made him look like some kind of gorgeous Greek sculpture. David could hardly take his eyes off of him.

“Yes, there is so much work to do, paperwork to sort. Trust me, I would much rather be with you.”

“Then take the day off. Phone in sick. Don’t you have secretaries and assistants to deal with all that boring shit. I thought you were the boss?”

“I am the boss.” David answered defensively, “it’s just that…” he wasn’t quite sure how to finish. He wanted to show Matthew that he cared, he didn’t want to lose him. And surely the gallery would be fine for one day without him, he had been working hard recently.

“Ok” David relented, savouring the smile that crept over Matthew’s face. “I’ll text my assistant Kayleigh and I’m sure she can last a day without me. Let’s spend the day together.”

It was many hours later before they finally left the bed and even then it was for food having somehow managed to skip lunch entirely. After David had text Kayleigh that morning, he had put his phone on silent and left it in the kitchen, not wanting anything to disturb his perfect day. By that evening, he was practically floating around the apartment.

Matthew had just ordered pizza when David finally checked his phone to 16 missed calls from Kayleigh and 72 unread texts. He quickly managed to piece together what had happened: a break-in at the gallery the night before. Money had been taken, windows smashed, artwork stolen or ruined. He went to grab his coat so he could go and assess the damage for himself and work out what the hell he was going to do next.

“David where are you going?”

“Matthew I’ve got to go. There’s an emergency at the gallery and they need me there.”

“But I’ve just ordered dinner, I thought we were going to spend tonight together. Besides, how exactly are _you_ going to help.”

David ignored the way the last comment stung. “It’s my gallery, I have to be there. We’ve spent all day together and I’m sorry but now I need to go.”

“Why is this so important all of a sudden? I thought I was important David, I thought you cared about us.”

“I do care but this is my job, I might lose thousands of dollars Matthew I have to go.”

“No.” Matthew commanded, his voice was low and harsh and the sudden change surprised David.

“Excuse me?” He asked incredulously.

“I said no. If you leave now, don’t bother coming back.”

One look at his eyes told David he was being serious. It took him a second to think, to work out what the right choice was. On the one hand, David loved spending time with Matthew, these past few days had felt like walking in air. On the other hand, David loved his job. He was passionate about what he did and the gallery was his responsibility, his chance to prove to everyone that he was capable and he could be successful on his own.

“Matthew I’m sorry, I have to go.” David began to make his way towards the door when he felt a rough hand grab his shoulder and pull him back.

“I knew it. I knew you didn’t care about me.”

“That’s not what I meant I-”

“Shut up!” His command was punctuated by a harsh slap in the face which took David by surprise, causing him to fall over.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” David asked, bringing a hand up to his cheek where the slap had stung. Taking advantage of the momentary pause, David tried to get up as quickly as he could and make a break for the front door.

Matthew pulled him up to his feet and the pair wrestled with Matthew trying to block the door. It was an unfair fight. Matthew with his toned abs and strong arms was much to powerful for David. The tussle continued for as long as David could hold on for but with one final blow to the stomach, David toppled over backwards, crashing into the glass coffee table on the way down.

When he woke up the next morning, David found once again that he couldn’t remember the night before though this was thanks to a concussion rather than his usual cocktail of drugs and alcohol. Apparently, after David fell, he had smashed the table and lost consciousness leading to a whole lot of blood and a killer headache. Matthew had just left him lying there alone and had walked straight out of the apartment. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when the pizza delivery guy arrived that an ambulance was called and David wound up in hospital.  
David vowed that that was the last time he would fall in love, nothing good ever comes from it.

* * *

The air is growing more tense with each passing second that no one says anything.

The eerie silence stretches out until Patrick sticks his head around the corner, slicing through the tension like a knife in those ASMR kinetic sand videos David sometimes watches before he goes to sleep.

“Everything ok out here?” Patrick asks hesitantly, obviously noting the strange tone and the general ominous silence that the store has taken on.

“We’re fine here, mate.” Matthew answers swiftly, resuming the effortless charm he constantly exudes whilst nodding his head towards the back room in a signal for Patrick to head back to what he was doing. It’s so confident, so reassuring that David almost goes into the back room himself.

Patrick stays put.

“I wasn’t talking to you, _mate_.” Patrick returns with a bite throwing his own words back at him. “Is everything ok David?” he asks tenderly looking in to David’s eyes where he can see the traces of panic and fear and the scrunch of his nose which tells Patrick his eyes are about to start watering. That’s all the answer he needs.

“I think you should leave.” Patrick commands in a confident and firm voice David very rarely hears. He is taking charge of the situation, making sure David is safe and protected and he knows exactly what David needs from him without even needing to say it out loud. David loves him so damn much.

The charming facade falls quickly and a sneer makes its way into Matthew’s voice. “And who exactly are you?”

“This is our store and that’s my husband you’re upsetting. Now leave, I won’t ask again.” This calm, steady Patrick is exactly what David needs. His rock, his tether in a collision of David’s past and present lives. Has David told him how much he loves him yet today? Because he loves him. He loves him so fucking much.

“Oh,” Matthew chuckles, “how sweet. I didn’t think you were the settling down type David. After all, you never cared about anyone other than yourself. I can’t believe you actually found someone who can stand to be around you.” He turns to Patrick, “It’s not too late, trust me this whore is better left as a one-night stand.”

And with that he leaves the store before Patrick can do something sensible like call the police or do something stupid like punch the smug prick.

If Patrick were less of a man, he would follow him out there and fight back with every single thing he loves about David Rose, but Patrick’s biggest concern is the man who he loves stood frozen at the counter with the tears that were welling in his eyes now threatening to spill over.

“David?” Patrick asks gently, his hand hovering in the space between them wanting nothing more than to reach out and comfort him but mindful of startling his husband.

David suddenly takes a shuddery breath, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands so as not to damage the sleeves of a probably very expensive cashmere sweater. For a moment he stands with his hands pressed to his eyes silent and unmoving but then the moment is gone and he sighs, shaking his head and his hands quickly to regain some form of composure.

Patrick is almost startled by the speed at which he moves from the edge of a breakdown to feigning normalcy as David turns to look at Patrick with a small smile.

“What an asshole, huh?” David asks in a far more jovial tone than Patrick was expecting.

“Are you alright? Who was that?”

“Just some asshole ex-boyfriend of mine. Why do I always seem to have the worst taste in men?” David replies with a kiss on his husband’s forehead as he wondered into the back leaving Patrick alone at the counter.

It hadn’t escaped his notice that his husband had failed to answer his first question.

* * *

Lunch at Twyla’s café had become something of a Wednesday tradition where they would both take their break and sit down to eat together rather than one of them just running to grab something they could eat while running the store.

It was David’s favourite time of the week where they could both just take time off, be together, and not have to think about work. David of course would never admit that out loud because somebody’s favourite day of the week being a Wednesday was one of the saddest fucking things he had ever heard in his life.

“One hot coffee please sweetheart. Make it snappy.”

Shit.

David doesn’t need to turn around to know who the voice belongs to. The British accent sticks out like a sore thumb, no one around here speaks to Twyla like that, and the death grip Patrick has suddenly got on his fork all sort of give it away.

Since the confrontation that morning, Patrick had been burning with righteous fury that he had spoken to David like that and with every passing hour he seemed to regret more not just following him out and decking him in the jaw. Patrick wasn’t a violent man by nature but anyone who thought they had the right to talk about his husband like that deserved what was coming to them.

“Patrick,” David says calmly pressing his hand into Patrick’s in an attempt to loosen the death grip he has on the fork before they have to pay for Twyla to get new cutlery. “it’s fine.”

The death grip loosens slightly but the anger only grows when he sees Matthew making his way across the café towards them.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t my two favourite husbands.” The sneer is back in full force and David knows he has to cut in before Patrick does something stupid.

“Leave. Now. Nobody wants you here.”

Matthew replies with a low whistle. “Wow, looks like somebody finally grew a spine. I didn’t expect that of you David.”

David replies with a small chuckle feeling more confident by the minute. He’s here in his town with his husband, in a café with his friends and this man has no power over him anymore. “Well maybe you would know a bit more about me if you had ever bothered to ask. How’s Hayes enterprises doing by the way?” he asks feigning innocence.

After the assault allegation against him had been filed with particularly damning evidence, Matthew had been fired from his father’s business Hayes enterprises which he was supposed to take over as CEO after his father retired. The role instead passed to his younger brother, a humiliation David knew he hadn’t been able to recover from.

“You ruined my life.” he says in such a piercing tone that the rest of the café falls silent and turns to watch the scene unfolding in front of them.

“You did that yourself when you smashed my head through that coffee table.” David counters.

Matthew’s hands are shaking and David has never felt braver in his life. This was everything he had wanted to say last time they spoke. To let him and all his other asshole ex’s know that he wasn’t weak. He wasn’t some side piece they could toss aside once they got bored of him or just keep using for money. He was absolutely deserving of love.

“One cup of coffee.” Twyla calls out breaking the staring contest that had began between David and Matthew. She places the coffee on the counter and her usual smile is gone. It’s in a to-go cup because Twyla is an absolute angel and as he looks around the café with all eyes watching back, Matthew quickly realises he is very much outnumbered.

He crosses the café and picks up his drink, taking the lid off to inspect the cup’s contents. As he swings back by David and Patrick’s table on his way to the exit, he takes a sip of the hot coffee. “This is for everything.”

Before anyone can intervene, Matthew throws the burning drink all over David and what is probably a very expensive cashmere sweater.

The café suddenly bursts back into life.

Matthew makes a swift exit followed closely by Ronnie, other patrons are expressing shock and disbelief and trying to get a look at the man with the hot coffee burning his chest, Twyla runs into the kitchen to fetch some towels and cool water, Patrick runs around the table to help his husband, and David...

It takes David a second to process what has happened and the sudden burst of life in the café. When that second is up, the hot liquid has made its way through the sweater and onto his chest and it’s burning and all of a sudden he feels like he can’t breathe, why can’t he breathe?

Patrick is trying to take the sweater off but it hurts too much and David is holding it away from his chest to stop more coffee seeping through it but the damage has already been done.

“Get him to the bathroom!” Twyla calls out, armed with a couple of clean cloths and Patrick helps his husband off his chair and into the bathroom at the back of the café. He sits him down on the toilet seat and away from the prying eyes of small town citizens who haven’t seen drama like this in many years. In the privacy of the bathroom, Patrick carefully removes David’s sweater to see the growing red patch underneath on David’s skin.

“Here.” Twyla says holding out a cloth soaked in cool water. “Try and cool the burn but keep him sitting upright.” Twyla’s minimal first aid training is finally coming into use for something other than a cut finger in the kitchen, she just wishes she didn’t have to see one of her friends in pain.

To his credit, David is handling it remarkably well. His breathing is heavy and his eyes are watering and when Patrick covers the burn with the water, he lets out a hiss through his teeth as his eyes scrunch up in pain.

Patrick is also handling it remarkably well. The fury from just a few minutes earlier has dissipated and been replaced almost entirely with worry. Patrick’s gentle murmurs of “it’s ok, you’re ok” are as much to reassure David as they are to try and calm himself down to keep the pair of them from spiralling.

After 10 minutes, the pain is manageable and Twyla leaves to make sure the rest of the restaurant hasn’t fallen to complete chaos in her absence. After a further 10 minutes, the burn is starting to look a little better and David is getting restless at being stuck in the bathroom at the café for so long. It’s incorrect.

After the initial chaos has died down and the only sound is David’s heavy breathing, Patrick takes in everything that happened. How could anybody be so cruel? And to David of all people who deserved the absolute world. Patrick is practically biting his tongue to stop himself from filling the silence with “Are you ok?” when his husband is very clearly not ok.

He doesn’t know how much longer he can sit there just staring at David before he says something stupid. Thankfully, David says something first. “Let’s go home.”  
Patrick is reluctant to try and put the sweater back on David but he can see how badly David needs to be at home so he can recharge and he absolutely refuses to leave the café topless. The burn isn’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room and the sweater is no longer hot, just damp which is a relief although Patrick is concerned about aggravating David’s injury any more than necessary.

Patrick slips the sweater back on David and helps him up from the toilet with a painful groan just as Stevie opens the bathroom door with a knock.

“I heard about what happened, are you guys ok?” she asks, her eyes flicking anxiously between Patrick and David, the latter of which is stood at an odd angle with his weight shifted over to his side.

“I think we just need to go home.” Patrick replies although he realises it doesn’t really answer her question.

All of a sudden, Patrick is overwhelmingly grateful for Stevie’s perfect timing because he and David had walked to work this morning on Patrick’s insistence that they become a bit more eco-friendly. David is certainly in no condition to be walking back now.

As they walk back through the café, Twyla wishes them well and there are some customers who look at them sympathetically, clearly desperate to see the outcome of the dramatic events which unfolded not even half an hour beforehand.

There’s a police car outside Rose Apothecary and Ronnie is stood out the front talking to an officer. Patrick moves to the side of David, blocking his view of it. That is a problem to deal with later on when David is at home resting and Patrick has time to clean up the mess that that asshole has made.

* * *

“Good morning handsome, how are you?” Patrick asks as David’s eyes flutter open. He is lying in bed topless under orders from Dr Google that he should let the burn “air” whatever the fuck that means. His husband is bringing over a cup of coffee and kissing him gently on the forehead so despite the twinge of pain in his chest as he sits up, David is having a good morning so far.

“I’m good. It’s definitely better than yesterday but I think a few days off and a couple of tubs of ice cream might be in order.”

“Well I’m not feeding my patient ice cream for breakfast so we’ll have to compromise and I’ll pick some of the fancy stuff up on the way back from the store.”

“We could do that or,” David says running his fingers along Patrick’s spine teasingly, “we could compromise and stay in bed together watching Bridget Jones instead.”  
Patrick laughs, “I’m not sure that you know what a compromise is David” which is followed by a kiss.  
Patrick takes a breath preparing himself for a more uncomfortable branch of conversation. “Besides, I have to go in and check on the store. There was some damage done yesterday and Ronnie says she’s got it covered but there’s loads of forms to fill out and insurance-”

“-wait what damage? Patrick what happened?” David asks suddenly sitting up sharper sending a flash of pain across his chest.

“Before they arrested Matthew,” Patrick beings hesitantly, “He threw some stones at the store and managed to smash a few windows. Ronnie boarded them up yesterday but we’re going to have to get them fixed soon.”

“Shit.” David replies followed by a stretch of silence. Patrick beings sipping from his own mug of coffee, mentally preparing to get up and leave David so that he can go and assess the damage for himself.

“I’m sorry.” David says, somewhat unexpectedly.

“For what?” Patrick asks growing concerned at the sight of his husband staring absentmindedly out in front of him with his coffee warming his hands without taking a sip.

David clears his throat, “I thought that when I moved here, I could just have left my whole other life behind. I’m not proud of the person I was back in New York. I was the kind of person who deserved to be with an asshole like that. Sometimes when I’m here, I forget that that whole other version of me even existed. There are a lot of people out there who hear the name David Rose and think of that stupid rich boy who clung to people that treated him like shit because he was just so desperate to be loved by someone. I deserved all the shit I got myself into, but you... you don’t deserve any of this. I hate that he can just walk into our lives fuck everything up. I’m sorry.”

Patrick stares at his husband, his beautiful sweet husband, who is staring down into his mug and refusing to look anywhere else.

“David...” Patrick begins tentatively, “you know this isn’t your fault right? I don’t know who this man is or what he did to you but I know for a fact you didn’t deserve it. I hate that anyone, even for a second, can make you feel like you deserve to be treated like that. I hate that I can’t go back in time and stop you from meeting all of those people who just wanted to hurt you. But most of all, I hate that after all this time you still think you can blame yourself for their behaviour. You aren’t the same man you were before. You changed, you grew, they didn’t and that is nobody’s fault but their own, especially not yours. I love you so much David Rose and nothing anyone else says will change my mind.”

David looks up at Patrick and he smiles, it’s small but it’s there and Patrick counts it as a win. He gets up to find his coat and head out when he pokes his head round the bedroom door for the last time before he leaves, “Will you be alright?”

David nods, “Of course I will, I’ve got you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. I binged Schitt's Creek over the last few weeks and I just can't get enough so I've been reading a LOT of fanfiction to cope and all that was left to do was write some for myself. Now we're back in lockdown I might start a series of fics like this in my free time so let me know in the comments if that's something you might be interested in. This was the product of a few midnight writing sessions so I hope it all makes sense :)


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